


Our Love Was

by notjustablipintime



Category: The Who
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 07:03:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7791577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustablipintime/pseuds/notjustablipintime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pete has a habit of making pretty bad decisions as it is, but he's hopeless when he's in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Morning After

I woke up as the first beam of morning light came through the window. I never had been able to sleep without the blinds shut, but last night was particularly hazy, even for me.

I'd had my share of drunken nights and several of them had ended with a strange woman in my bed. That's why, when I finally became aware of my senses, I wasn't all surprised to feel a presence beside me. What did surprise me, though, was that it was Roger Daltrey.

Beside me, he lay, peaceful and dreaming. The only movement was the steady rise and fall of his chest with every slow breath he took. My eyes were fixated on him, as if my staring were the only thing keeping that steady rhythm going and if I looked away for even a second, he would cease to exist.

As my eyes continued to follow the up and down movement of his chest, I began to notice more. Our legs were tangled together beneath the bed sheets, mine underneath, as if I couldn't have bared being more than a breath away from him. Roger's arm was loosely roped around mine and he was turned inward, signaling that he had wanted to be close as well. 

But the most telling thing wasn't our positions relative to one another, it was the pale red marks all over Roger's neck and chest. And that's when I realized - we were both naked. Roger and I had been intimate. I searched my brain for any recollection of the night before but nothing came.

In that moment, I knew that I had a decision. Do I split or do I stick around to see Roger's reaction when he wakes up? There was no way that this was gonna go over well with Roger, so that eliminated the latter option. We had just started a new tour and 3 nights in, I was already in bed with the lead singer - a guy who, by and large, I didn't really even like. I needed to get out of here before he woke up, praying that by some miracle he didn't remember either. That was probably a long shot though since Roger rarely drank.

Maybe I could pass it all off as a vivid fever dream. As for the hickeys, well, I could always blame Keith. 'He let loose a raccoon in your room. Mauled you, he did. We thought you were done for.' Even I knew that was a stretch, but it was the best I had.

I managed to extract myself from Roger's hold without waking him up, (please don't ask me how) put a pair of jeans and a t-shirt on, and got out of the room as fast as I could.

Just as I had shut the door, John appeared, a big, knowing smile plastered on his face. "There he is. How you feeling, buddy?" he teased cheerfully and loudly. Quickly, I pushed him down the hall, shushing him all the while. "He's still sleeping, you idiot," I hissed, but John kept on grinning. "Aw, how sweet. You don't wanna wake your boyfriend up," he said, tone mocking.

I wasn't in such a jovial mood, though, and his smile fell when he finally realized as much. "Come on, I'm only teasing you. Lighten up," he said, tone bordering on the edge of concerned. Normally, I took John and Keith's jokes in stride, but today I was completely out of sorts.

"I can't remember anything from last night," I confessed, leaning against the nearest wall. "And I'm praying he doesn't either." 

John nodded, understanding. "Well you were both very drunk, you possibly more so, but it was hard to tell," he continued, trying to be comforting.

I nodded, eyes downcast at the gaudy hotel carpet. My eyes traced the pattern, grateful for any distraction at this point. "What else happened last night," I finally asked. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it, but I knew I needed to.

John sighed and rubbed the back of his head. It was that bad, huh? "Well, some bird was chattin' up Roger. You were in a corner somewhere, gettin' pissed. Next thing I know, you and Rog are in the middle of the room, yelling at each other. When he looked like he was gonna deck you, I pulled you away and took you to a different room. Fast forward an hour and the two of you are in the hall, necking. That's all I know," he said, putting his hands up.

I sighed. So jealousy had gotten the better of me. Typical. My emotions tended to run wild when I was drunk. "Shit, I don't remember any of that." Suddenly, John's eyes fixed on something behind me and I spun around, only to find Roger standing in the doorway. My heart sank as I took in the look of anger on his face. How much had he heard? How long had he been standing there? "Rog," I began.

"Save it," he spat. Then, he turned back into the room, slamming the door behind him. I'd really done it this time.


	2. A Rendezvous to Remember

"What can I get for you two handsome gentlemen?"

I looked up and a kind lady in a pink and white apron stood smiling at us, patiently waiting with a pen and pad in her hand. "Yeah uhh I'll just have eggs and toast." 

"And I'll have the same," John followed before the waitress took our menus and left us alone once again with our coffees.

"Do you think he'll ever talk to me again," I asked and John merely replied with a roll of his eyes.

"You've asked me that a dozen times and a dozen times I've given you the same answer. You don't even know why he's mad at you. Besides, you guys fight all the time. How is this any different?"

I shot John a cold glare. "It's different because I fucked him," I replied loud enough to get a few shocked glances from the people sitting near us.

"He's married," I replied, quieter.

"So are you," John quipped back.

"Yeah, but not happily. My marriage has been in shambles since we got back from the honey moon," I said, running a hand through my hair. "Just... Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't I have woken up next to Mick or something?"

"Yeah, we all know you've had that dream more than once," he said with an eye roll, taking a sip of his coffee.

I was about to respond when the person I least wanted to see walked in with the person John most wanted to see. His face lit up as Keith bounded over to the table and took the spot right next to John. 

"John, my dear boy. I seem to have a rather severe headache from last night's festivities. Mind fetching me some nourishment," Keith asked in his normal, nonsensical way that John just adored.

"She'll be back soon for your order, dear. For now, have patience," John soothed.

While John and Keith were totally at ease with one another, the tension between Roger and me was enough to cut with a knife. It was like a stand off, both of us just staring at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. It hadn't escaped anyone's notice that the only available spot was next to me, so this could only end one of two ways.

Luckily, he made a move and chose to sit with the band, making a point of sitting on the edge of the booth so he was as far as possible from me. I figured two could play at that game, so I slid all the way over so my hip was pressed into the wall. I could feel John's judgmental gaze fixed on me, but I didn't care. If Roger could be a child then so could I.

When the waitress noticed more people had joined our table she came back to take their order. Keith and John were playing some kind of game only they understood which left John to order for the drummer. When it was Roger's turn, though, he turned on the charm. "A stack of pancakes for me, love. And might I say you look lovely."

I couldn't see him smile, but by the way the waitress blushed, I knew he had flashed her a winner. "Coming right up, gentlemen," she said, eyes fixed on Roger.

"Then get on with it," I snapped, not realizing what I had said until it came out of my mouth. All of my bandmates were staring at me with their mouths agape. Immediately, I turned to apologize to the waitress, but she had stormed off. I couldn't blame her.

"What the bloody hell was that, Townshend," Roger said, a disgusted look on his face.

I swallowed and looked down, unwilling to see the judgmental looks I was sure my other bandmates were casting in my direction from across the booth.

I didn't offer an explanation. I didn't offer anything. I just stood up, stepped over Roger, and bolted from the restaurant. I wasn't entirely sure where I was going, nor was I paying much attention, so when I ran head on into another person, I shouldn't have been too surprised.

When I came to my senses, I noticed the person I had collided with had dropped everything. I knelt down to help, mumbling apologies, but stopped dead when the person looked up at me. Suddenly, I was face to face with Roger's first wife.

"Jackie," I asked.

"Pete," she replied with a smile.

"W-what are you doing here," I asked, taking in the vision in front of me. Jackie had always been a cute girl, but the years had been good to her.

"Well, I heard you guys were in town and I wanted to see if I could hunt you down. It's been a while since I've seen the lot of you," she explained.

"Yeah, it has," I agreed. "I'm really glad you came out, Jackie. You look great. Terrific, actually."

"Awe, thank you, Pete," she replied with a blush. "You always were such a charmer. Hey, are the other guys around? I'd love to say hello to them, too."

"Even Roger," I asked, semi-surprised.

"Well, it won't be the most comfortable meeting of all time, but I'll manage somehow," she said with a laugh.

My initial instinct was to take her back to the diner so I could redeem myself for my outburst, but what came out of my mouth next was far from that.

"Finding that lot is harder than finding a needle in a haystack, but they'll wander back sooner or later. How about you and I go upstairs and wait? And in the mean time we can do a little... Catching up."

Jackie smiled. "Yeah, that would be great!"

I smiled and reached into my pocket, pulling out the room key. "Follow me, then."


	3. Fucked In Every Way

I took in a deep breath, a cloud of smoke escaping my mouth as I exhaled. I had never taken myself for a post- sex smoker, but here I was.

Suddenly, I felt a warm body curl into my side and press a kiss to my shoulder. "That was incredible."

"Yeah," I replied, tone completely blasé. I never really took myself as a post-sex cuddler either, but here I was. "It was nice."

Jackie either didn't notice or didn't care how bored I must have sounded. "How about you and I order some room service? I'm not normally in the habit of having dessert first, but... We all gotta make due sometimes," she flirted.

"You need to go," I said, immediately pulling away from her and standing up.

"What," she said, taken aback. "You invited me up here."

"This was a mistake," I said, pulling my clothes on.

"Mistake," she asked incredulously. "You invited me up here! You kissed me! You fucked me!"

"Yeah, and you weren't exactly trying to stop it either. So I guess we both fucked up," I said, my back to her.

"You're an ass, Pete. Fuck you," she said, throwing a pillow and hitting me in the head. "You've got your wish. Once I get dressed, I'm out of here," she said, gathering up her clothes that had been strewn across the room as they had been quickly removed just an hour before.

I sighed, running a hand down my face. "Jackie, wait. Don't leave," I said, trying to follow her into the bathroom, but the door was just slammed in my face.

I rested my head against the door. "I'm sorry I lashed out. I'm sorry I called this a mistake. I've been saying a lot of the wrong things lately." I paused, hoping I'd get a response, but there was silence.

"Look, Jackie. You're not just another groupie, you're Simon's mom." And that's when the gravity of what I had done really hit me. "And Simon is a beautiful boy and you're a beautiful lady."

Once again there was silence, but a few seconds later, the door opened and she emerged fully dressed. She gave me a small smile, so I must have said something right. She reached up and cupped my cheek.

"Deep down, you really are just a big softy, aren't you," she said gently.

I smiled, putting my hand over hers. "Don't forget ass hole. I'm definitely that too."

She chuckled, looking up into my eyes. "A softy with ass hole tendencies. How do I seem to find those kid of guys everywhere I turn?"

"We're reproducing," I said dryly, but she laughed.

"It really was great seeing you again, Pete, but I should go. Take care of yourself, okay?" She leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. We dropped our hands and I wrapped my arms around her waist.

It wasn't a passionate kiss, nor was it a long kiss, but it was enough for us to get caught red handed by the last person we both wanted to see.

As we both snapped apart, Jackie in my arms, Roger took in the sight before him, realizing exactly what had happened.

Each one of us had identical expressions of shock on our face until Roger's gaze darkened into a sinister look I had never seen cross his face until now. For the first time in my life, I was scared of the singer.

"Jackie, I hate to be crass, but I need to talk to Pete alone," Roger said and not a second later was she out of my arms and out the door.

I swallowed, now alone with Roger for the first time since this morning. "Roger," I said, voice cautious. "I can explain."

"Okay," he said, voice eerily calm. "Go right ahead."

I swallowed, a little surprised. "Well, I was-" But I was interrupted suddenly by a fist colliding with my face and then everything was black.


End file.
